# Serial Control vs Tailscale

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Tailscale at 61% against Serial Control's 0%. Tailscale also leads on chart position (#67 vs unranked) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). Serial Control's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Serial Control ships an update every 5 weeks, Tailscale fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Serial Control | Tailscale |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.4 (747 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **747** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **61.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#67** |
| Size | 6 MB | 29 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [StarTech.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/983360067) | [Tailscale Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1470499035) |

## What reviewers say

### Serial Control

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/serial-control/id1126359830)

Create custom interfaces for serial devices from your smartphone or tablet. Design control pages with buttons and sliders, build command libraries, and automate actions based on device responses. Seamlessly integrate with StarTech.com serial products.

**Highlights:** Customizable control interfaces, Command library builder, Event-based action automation, Automatic device detection, Integrated account control, HEX and ASCII command editor

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Tailscale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037)

**Currently charting:** #67 Top Free · Utilities (US App Store)

Securely connect devices, users, and workloads with a mesh VPN built on WireGuard. It brings identity to network access, enabling Zero Trust principles across diverse environments. Modernize your network for homelabs, businesses, and cloud infrastructure.

**Highlights:** Secure mesh networking, Identity-based access control, Zero Trust security, WireGuard-based VPN, Homelab and business VPN, Cloud and workload connectivity, Hardware-agnostic overlay network

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to set up and use
- 🔒 Secure remote access
- 👍 Convenient for accessing home network
- 👍 Seamless connectivity between devices
- 🚀 Powerful networking features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔋 Significant battery drain
- 🐛 Connectivity issues and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable performance
- 🐛 Broken functionality after updates

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to connect or authenticate
- Exit node feature not working as expected
- Inconsistent behavior when switching networks
- App getting stuck in a loading state

**Requested features**

- On-demand VPN connection
- Ability to switch between multiple accounts
- More granular control over exit nodes
- Integration with other networking tools
- Dark mode option


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Serial Control free?

Serial Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Tailscale free?

Tailscale is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Serial Control or Tailscale have ads?

Neither Serial Control nor Tailscale shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Serial Control or Tailscale?

Serial Control ships an update every 5 weeks, and Tailscale fortnightly. Most recently, Serial Control was updated on October 3, 2026 and Tailscale on October 14, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*